When biology gets creative! Discover how proteins drive vesicles

Hey, science lovers! Let’s talk about something mind-blowing: artificial cells! It turns out that some biophysicists have created a transport system that mimics the functioning of a real cell; This is a great achievement on the road to synthetic biology and the creation of artificial cells that behave like real ones.

Picture this: vesicles trapped in a lipid membrane, called liposomes, moving endlessly over a surface. How do they do it? Thanks to the interaction of the vesicle membrane with certain protein patterns! These patterns are generated by a system called Min proteins, which controls cell division in a bacterium called E. coli. Yes, bacteria! Surprisingly, these small proteins are capable of setting the vesicles in motion. It’s as if the vesicles have their own engines!

Scientists are surprised by this discovery; Targeted transport of large vesicles is normally only found in more complex cells, such as those of higher living things, but here we have these tiny bacterial proteins doing a similar job. It is still a mystery what exactly these proteins do on the surface of the membrane, and what the bacteria might need them for. Science always keeps us in suspense with its mysteries!

Now, scientists have identified two possible mechanisms to explain how the movement occurs. One is that the proteins interact like a zipper between the supporting membrane and the surface of the vesicles, forming or dissolving molecular compounds. If there are more proteins on one side than the other, the zipper opens on that side, while it closes on the other, and the gallbladder moves in the direction where there are fewer proteins! The second possible mechanism is that the proteins deform the vesicle membrane and change its shape, causing forward movement.

But most importantly, this discovery is a big step towards artificial cells! The scientists believe that their system could serve as a platform for the development of artificial systems with real movements. Imagine creating artificial cells that behave like real living cells! It is as if we were playing at being scientific gods.

Well, that’s all for now, synthetic biology explorers. Remember, science never ceases to amaze us and take us to new horizons of knowledge! Until the next scientific adventure!